The Winters Curse
by rocketstar
Summary: Prudence Winters has lived dozens of lives but none that she could remember as each time she died she was reborn with no memory of her previous lives. Cursed from the day she was born by a witch working to stop Prudence's parents from breaking a curse on Klaus. Prue is once again living a life that she'll forget but this time Mystic Falls, the place where she died for first time.
1. Chapter 1

_Constance Cavendish stood outside a house in upstate New York and watched through the windows as a couple cooed over the baby laying in a bassinet. Although Constance couldn't see the baby from where she was standing she didn't need to as she knew what the baby looked like as that baby, the one inside the nice house being showered with attention was her baby. Prudence. Closing her eyes Constance could picture her daughter's tiny face in her mind as she had seen it so many times before that she'd never forget what Prudence looked like even if she tried. Opening her eyes Constance had to try her hardest not to start crying as she reminded herself that this was for the best, it was better for Prudence if the two of them were separated. The last thing Constance ever wanted to do was give up her daughter but it was the only way to ensure that Prudence led a normal life._

_If Prudence was away from her and led a normal life, maybe the curse wouldn't strike this time. The curse placed on Constance by a fellow witch for attempting to help a vampire from a breaking a curse. The curse placed on Constance gave her immortality but rendered her powerless which was seemingly nothing compared to the curse placed on the infant Prudence. Over the last two hundred years Constance given birth to her daughter, watch Prudence grow in front of her own eyes learning about her magical heritage before cruelly being snatched away from Constance. Only for her to become pregnant again with her daughter only minutes after Prudence had been buried. It was a vicious circle that never seemed to end no matter what Constance had tried until now. She had given birth to Prudence a week ago and made the heartbreaking decision to give her daughter up for adoption. Constance thought that if Prudence grew up away from her and never knew the truth about her magical heritage and abilities then maybe things would end differently. Maybe Prudence would live longer than her 18__th__ birthday this time. _

_It broke Constance's heart having to give up Prudence but she knew this was for the best, which is why she made sure that her daughter went to people who would make good parents and take care of Prudence. Constance told herself that she had to leave but it was hard to walk away from the daughter she loved and cherished so much but she had to. So Constance glanced at the happy family for the last time before she disappeared into the darkness knowing that she was doing the right thing as Prudence deserved to have a better life that what Constance could give her, one away from curses and magic… Now she just had to say goodbye._

_"Goodbye Prudence, you are in my heart always…"_

* * *

**Almost seventeen years later...**

Prudence Winters or Prue as she preferred to go by had this innate sense of déjà vu as she grimly stared out the passenger's side window of the car watching her parents pretend in vain that they weren't arguing with each other at the top of her father's driveway. But Prue wasn't stupid, she knew that her parents were capable of arguing with each other without raising their voices. They had been doing it for years, arguing without raising their voices as to pretend everything was fine in front of Prue when it actually wasn't. Prue had finally figured it out when she was eight years old and her parents had split up and were getting divorced because of her father's affair with his now wife. Usually her parents argued about money, the custody agreement and other things divorced but now they were arguing about her now. Prue had been kicked out of her boarding school in Connecticut a week ago and because of that her mother announced that Prue was moving in with her father. Prue thought it was a joke. There was no way in hell that her mother was sending her to Mystic Falls, the super weird town in Virginia where dreams went to die along with super boring people. But yet here she was, after being kicked out of school because of an incident with her former boyfriend. Her mom had gone ballistic and instead of grounding her like normal parents Prue's mom decided to ship her out to the middle of nowhere. Getting bored of this idle nonsense Prue climbed out of the car and grabbed the last of her bags out of the truck of the car and walked up her dad's front lawn towards the front door.

"Prudence."

Sighing to herself Prue stopped and faced her parents Damien and Clarissa who were looking at her with similar looks of despair on their faces. Clearly they had realized that they had been busted. "Yes?"

"Do you have anything to say for yourself?" Clarissa asked.

"Not really, I think you and dad pretty much covered it all but maybe next time..." Prue quipped before continuing towards her father's house before walking up the porch and entering the two storey colonial house. Ignoring the actual interior of the house, Prue headed up the flight of stairs in front of her pretending like this wasn't the first time she had been in her father's home given that he usually came to visit her. Once she reached the top of the stairs Prue wasn't exactly which way she needed to down the hallway until she spotted the sign on the door, which had Prudence on it. The sign was one of those typical child bedroom signs and Prue was pretty sure that Evie was responsible for it. Picking up her bags, Prue walked towards the door with her name on it and she pushed the door open. Stumbling in Prue dumped her bags on the floor and wearily looked around the room. It looked straight out of a interior decorating magazine just with some more personal touches and her personal belongings which had been sent over a few days ago. The room was much bigger than the one Prue had at bother her mother's house and her prep school so wouldn't complain. Despite the fact she had to be here, at least something was kind of looking up. Deciding to unpack later Prue walked over to her bed and proceeded to jump on it and it some how elicited a small child like laughter.

"Prue?"

Before she check out the noise from under her breath Prue was distracted by her father standing in the doorway of her new bedroom with a frown on his face. Prue knew her dad well enough despite the fact that he was always working that a lecture was coming her way. "We can skip over the niceties dad and get straight to the scolding or lecturing, which ever one you want to do."

"You need to cut your mother some slack Prudence, this had been a very trying time for her and your not making it any easier for her." Damien stated and Prue just rolled her eyes.

"This has been hard for Clarissa, really?"

"Another thing stop calling your mother by her first name, she is your mother and deserves more respect than that from you." Damien began in gentle yet scolding tone of voice.

"Adoptive." Prue couldn't help but feel the need to correct her father as Damien Winters and Clarissa Montgomery were her adoptive parents, having adopted Prue the day she was born. Pretty obvious to everyone who saw them together as Prue had long brown hair with piercing eagle like hazel eyes whilst both her parents were blonde with blue eyes. Prue had figured it out when she was eight, her parents had finally got around to telling her when she was ten.

"True but she is still your mother Prudence, we may not together anymore and unfortunately we are not your biological parents but we are still your parents Prue and we love you so much. But you need to treat your mother with more respect. I know things have been difficult with the two of you over the last eighteen months but you getting kicked out of school has pushed your mom to the end of her tether." Damien explained.

"I was not kicked out, I was asked to leave for which I maintain was a bit of an overreaction."

"Prudence you were caught sneaking your boyfriend out of your dorm room of your all girl school which your mother and I paid a lot of money for. Then there were several other incidents along with the uniform violations such as you ditching school to go get your tongue pierced. Still in shock about one…" Damien noted and Prue sighed.

"Well if you want the money back then take it out of my college fund."

"It is not about the money Prudence, it is about you sweetheart. Something is going on and it has been since your mom and I split up. At first we thought it was just you rebelling because of the divorce and me getting remarried but this has been going on for almost seven years Prue. It's always one thing after the next with you, things were fine for a while and then you went to boarding school and then it all started up again Prue." Damien gently said.

"Did you ever think maybe this is all about mom constantly shipping me off? First to boarding school for two years and then here. She never asked me what I wanted, mom just did it and you agreed to it all because you don't want to piss mom off and end up in another custody battle! You know how that makes me feel dad? It makes me feel me crappy and like mom doesn't want me just like my biological mom didn't want me and that is why I've been giving mom a hard time!" Prue retorted.

"Prudence…"

"Forget it dad, just forget I said anything I'm just really tired because of this whole moving around. I'll call mom tomorrow and apologize and promise I won't screw up so badly that she has to ship me off to school in Switzerland." Prue said waving the whole thing off the moment she saw the crest fallen look on her father's face. The last thing Prue wanted her father to think was that he or her mother were bad parents, biological or not. She maybe a major screw up but her parents weren't and at least they wanted her unlike her biological mother.

"Get some rest sweetie, we'll talk in the morning." Damien said with a sweet smile and Prue managed to give him one back and she waited until her father had left her room, shutting the door on his way out before looking under her bed.

"I see you Chickeve!" Prue said as she saw her seven year old sister Evelyn better known as Evie hiding under her bed with her tiny hands clasped over her mouth to stop herself from laughing so their wouldn't know she was up and out of bed way past her bedtime. Moments later Evie crawled out from under the bed, jumped up onto Prue's bed and positioned herself in her big sister's lap.

"Your home Prudy!" Evie squeaked in excitement and Prue ruffled her little sister's blonde hair. Eve was Prue's adoptive paternal half sister as Eve was their dad's biological daughter from his second marriage. Not to mention Prue's best friend in the entire world, whenever Prue was at school she was got silly letters and drawings from her little sister. Then when their dad came down to visit Prue when she was at home Evie would come along and they got to spend some quality time together.

"You'll always want me, won't you Evie?" Prue asked her sister, half joking but yet half being serious as it seemed like the seven year old Evie was the only one who always wanted Prue. Always loved having her around and never lost her temper or get exasperated because of some stunt Prue had pulled. Although they weren't biologically related Prue considered Evie to be her sister as the little girl in her lap was well aware that she and her big sister looking nothing alike but still didn't give a hoot.

"Always! I don't like it when you go away Prudy! I like it when you stay and play with me."

"So do I Chickeve, so do I…" Prue replied placing a kiss on the top of her sister's head. So she was in a dead end town like Mystic Falls with her adorable little sister, what was the worst that could happen? She couldn't get into anymore trouble here then she did in Connecticut…


	2. Chapter 2

First days of schools were generally something that Prue hated, it made her feel uneasy as it was the first day in somewhere new and the last school Prue had started was her boarding school. There she didn't know anyone, she had just come from Albany to this weird all girls boarding school in Connecticut. But now it was different, Prue had arrived seven weeks late into the semester would should have unnerved her but it didn't. Prue had no nerves in the slightest, for some reason she felt this odd feeling of familiarity in Mystic Falls despite being here for only two days now. For the life of her Prue couldn't understand why she felt this way so she just put it down to being back with her family instead of being away at school. Prue's dad had done the whole driving her to school thing, coming in with her to the school office to make sure everything was in place. He had even made a joke about asking her to try not and get kicked out of this school. Prue actually laughed at this, her dad was being pretty chilled out about this whole thing. Well more adult about it then his ex-wife.

"Are you okay? You look a bit lost?"

Prue turned to her left and saw two girls standing right beside her with slightly worried looks on their faces. One of the girls was a tall Caucasian girl with blonde hair, blue eyes and looking every inch the typical popular girl. The other girl was African American with olive green eyes and curly black hair. The first thing that Prue noticed about her was the girl's friendly and welcoming a smile. There was something about this girl that just seemed to draw Prue into her. "Maybe I don't really know, it's my first day here…"

"Let me guess pretty intense?

"Kind of. I spent the last two years in an all girls boarding school so being in co-ed is going to take some use to as I haven't been in one since middle school. Apparently some student has been assigned to help me re adjust from going to an all girl boarding school to a co-ed public high school…" Prue explained to the African American girl.

"That would be me then!" The blonde girl said in a very cheery voice. "I'm Caroline Forbes, the principal asked me to show you around as I'm captain of the cheerleading squad, head of the clean up committee and several other committee's as that what I do best. Then this is Bonnie, you must be Prudence."

"–Prue, just Prue. No one except my parents ever call me Prudence. Personally I don't think I suit the name Prudence by parents didn't consult me on it. Just gave me the name and I've been stuck with it every since, the only upside is that I can shorten it to just Prue. I don't think I could stand constantly being called Prudence, a bit of an old fashioned name…" Prue explained before realizing that she was rambling.

"Your Mr. Winters other daughter, right? The adopted one?" Caroline asked.

"Caroline!" Bonnie hissed before turning to Prue as a look of pure horror appeared on Caroline's face and Prue wasn't really sure how to react as she wasn't aware that people knew about her. Let alone the fact that she was adopted. Prue's dad was a pretty successful author who wrote crime novels which took up a lot of his time. He used to live in New York before moving to the small town in Virginia that his wife grew up in five years ago. Prue was surprised to know that her dad talked about her with people for them to know that Damien Winters had two daughters, one of which were adopted.

"I am so sorry, things just come out of my mouth before I realize what I'm doing! Oh my god! What if you didn't know that you were adopted as your parents didn't want to tell you and now I've just did!" Caroline said in rather rushed and panicky tone of voice and Prue couldn't help but laugh. It was sweet and rather adorable, it kind of reminded her Evie when she was on a sugar rush.

"Don't worry about it, it's okay… I know Caroline, I've known for a long time that I was adopted so don't worry about it. Kind of obvious anyway as you look at my dad and then you look at me, we look nothing alike and that's without factoring my mom in it. So don't panic that you've revealed some dark family secret as I've known for about eight years now." Prue reassured and she could see Caroline visibly relax over it.

"So you used to be in boarding school Prue? What brings you from there to Mystic Falls if you don't mind me asking?" Bonnie question.

"Got into a bit much trouble for the principal and matrons liking so my mom shipped me out here to live with my dad for a while."

"What kind of trouble." Caroline asked and the intrigue was very much clear in her voice as the three of them walked down the school hallway. Prue had no idea where she was going but that the principal had asked Caroline to look out for, Prue doubted the blonde would lead her astray. Prue doubted Bonnie would even let Caroline do anything of the such.

Prue wearily laughed. "The kind that involves getting caught sneaking my boyfriend into the dorms for the third and very last time. Then there were a few other things that I did which they weren't too pleased about. Boarding school is nothing like it is in those books with the midnight snacks and sneaking down to the pool for a late night swim. It's pretty intense, you should have seen the lecture I got when I came back with my tongue pierced. I thought matron's head was going to explode…"

"So you're a little Miss Troublemaker I see." Caroline noted and Prue laughed,

"Not really, I like to have fun and I don't like being stifled…But I'm no delinquent, if you ignore the sneaking my boyfriend into my very expensive school, the tongue piercing and everything else I'm just a normal teenage girl. I'm just a free spirit as my dad likes to say when my mom wants to know why I'm apparently so reckless with an inability to stay still." Prue said and fortunate for her Bonnie and Caroline laughed. In a small town like Mystic Falls where everyone knew each other it was going to be hard for Prue to settle in if she had no one to hang out with except her little sister. Now Prue loved Evie more than anything in the world but she couldn't spend her entire time in this town hanging out with her seven year old sister, no matter how adorable her sister was. Evie had her own friends so Prue needed to get her won.

"I like you Prudence Winters, your very strange but very intriguing and easy going at the same time. I like it a lot." Caroline announced and Prue tried her hardest not to have a ten thousand watt smile on her face.

"What Caroline is trying to say rather poorly Prue, is that we'd like you to be our friend. If your not busy after school, do you want to go to the grill with us? It's kind of like a local bar slash restaurant that we all hang out." Bonnie offered.

"I'd like that a lot actually…" Prue began before a chilling cold shiver went up her spine.

_"Prudence…"_

Hearing her name Prue couldn't help but turn around but to her amazement there was no one there, well there were people in the hallway as she was in school. Prue could have sworn she heard her name being called, but it wasn't like it was one person calling out to her. It was dozens of voices, barely louder than a whisper but all of them together were loud enough to get her attention and she had heard it as clear as day. But all the other kids were going about their business and better yet, none of them knew who she was. So someone couldn't have called out her name, however Prue knew it was highly unlikely that someone else in this town was called Prudence. It was an awfully old fashioned kind of name and Prue had never come across anyone else who hared her first name.

"What is it Prue?" Bonnie couldn't help but ask and Prue turned back to her before briefly shaking her head. Her imagination was clearly in over drive given that she was in the town that she claimed dreams went to do and die. It was probably her sub-conscious trying to keep herself entertained before she lost her mind to sheer boredom.

"Nothing, it doesn't matter…"


	3. Chapter 3

_Prudence struggled against her restrains despite knowing it was hopeless, the rope she had been bound with was far too tight and all she was doing was ripping into her own skin. But she just couldn't help herself, the urge to try and escape was still there despite knowing that she was going to die. It was only a matter of minutes before they lit the fire that would burn her at the stake. Prudence wildly looked around as the fear and panic got stronger with every passing moment, she hoped that someone would show leniency towards her and pardon her for her crime. But no one did, the whole town wanted to see her burn except her mother. Scanning the crowds, it took Prudence a few seconds before she spotted her mother, no matter how much she pleaded with her mother not to come Prudence knew she would be here, And she was; standing far behind the angry crowd, standing every so slightly behind an oak tree so that no one could see but exposed enough that Prudence could make her out. That was the only relief that Prudence could take in this moment but yet also it greatly pained her as her mother was about to watch her die yet again and there was nothing Prudence could do. Sure she could use magic to escape but that could confirm all the suspicions and accusations that she was indeed a witch. It wouldn't change anything… _

_"BURN THE WITCH! KILL THE WITCH!" The crowd angrily chanted and Prudence glanced over at her mother for the last time as the tears began to roll down her cheek. Missing the witch finder lighting the fire that would kill her and ignoring the cheers of all the townspeople. That was not something Prue wanted to see before she would die._

_Prudence closed her eyes and tried to pretend like she was somewhere else but it was hard not to as she could start to feel the warmth of the flames. They weren't too close to her but close enough that Prudence was aware of them and could feel the heat that radiated off of them. But soon enough the flames started getting hotter and hotter, then came the smoke. At first Prudence was only coughing but eventually she found it hard to breathe, then the flames were burning at her legs and despite her best efforts not to cry out in pain Prudence couldn't help but scream out in pain as the cheers and chants continued to get louder…_

* * *

Prue sharply sat up in bed gasping for breath and drenched in sweat, after a moment she caught her breath and ran her hands through her hair. Prue actually felt that she was on fire. That dream had felt so real, it was like she could smell the smoke and feel the fire burning and continuing to get hotter and hotter. Prue swore that she could even smell the scent of her burning flesh, the dream seemed so much more than an actual dream. Sighing to herself Prue glanced at her clock, which read 6:37am, an early morning for her so she figured she might as well get up. Pushing off the covers Prue swung her legs off her bed and got up, leaving her bedroom Prue walked down the hallway and down the stairs and headed straight into the kitchen, where she wasn't alone.

"Your up early Prue." Lydia Winters, Prue stepmother said in surprised as it was a well known fact that Prue liked her sleep and was a bit of a grump if she was disturbed. So her being up before seven even on a school day was highly irregular.

"Had this really freaky dream or rather a nightmare."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Lydia asked which didn't surprise Prue as her stepmother was a talker, she liked to talk about things but she knew well enough never to push Prue. At first Prue didn't like her stepmother given that she was the woman that her father had cheated on her mother with and then left the two of them for her. Prue was mean, rude and brash towards Lydia because she blamed her for breaking up her family. But Lydia much to Prue's surprise had a lot of patience and was willing to take very small and gradual steps to gain Prue's trust. Things got easier when Evie had been born but Prue and Lydia's relationship only became an actually mother-daughter type of relationship when Prue realized that Lydia wasn't the one to blame. Sure she was the other woman but both her parents had a role to play and they hadn't been a perfect family.

"I dreamt I was being burned at the stake like in ye old time during the witch trials." Prue wearily said which caused her stepmother to frown briefly given the weirdness of it. Just saying out loud made Prue realize how weird the dream actually was, as she had her share of nightmares and bizarre dreams over the years but nothing like this before. Well not any that she could actually recall.

"Wow that is freaky."

"It felt so surreal, like it was more than just a dream and more like a memory than anything else but that's insane but I woke up and I felt so hot and I was drenched in my own sweat. It was very weird…" Prue couldn't help but note, this dream of hers felt different to any nightmare that she ever had before. Like it was dream of a memory of a previous life but it couldn't be possible.

"I wouldn't think too much of it as Halloween is only a few days away Prue and that's probably why your dreaming of witches and burning at the stakes. And speaking of Halloween, it means that someone is about to turn seventeen." Lydia said and Prue couldn't help but smile. She had the fortune of being born on Halloween in the very early hours of the morning. "Have you thought about what you want for your birthday or if you want to do anything?

"I thought I'd take Evie trick or treating if that's okay?" Prue asked as the upside of her being here was that she got to spend more time with her little sister. With her being away so much the two of them barely got time to spend that much quality time together let alone any birthdays or holidays.

"Of course! You don't have to ask to spend time with your sister Prue and I know Evie would love to go with you. She was delighted when your dad told her you were coming to live here with us. Evie looks up to you so much…" Lydia revealed and Prue wasn't sure how to respond to this as she was the girl with somewhat attitude problem, pierced tongue and had recently been booted out of her fancy boarding school.

"Probably not the best role model for the little Chickeve and if I'm saying it then you know it's true." Prue wearily stated as she was not the role model type.

"You're a good person Prudence, you've just been going through that typical teenaged rebellious stage and you've done something's that maybe your not proud of but that's helped shaped you of a person. Evie see's the good in you Prue and I know that if she ever needs anything then you'll be there for her. I see you with Prue and the light in your eyes when you're with Evie is just heartwarming. There is almost ten years difference between the two of you but you are two of the closest people I have ever met and I can see how much you love your sister. Which is why I know you're the best role mode for Evie because I know you'll take care of her always, watch out and guide Evie, making sure that she won't me and your father grandparents before she's finished college with a good job and a husband." Lydia explained and Prue couldn't help but smile, she didn't realize how much faith her stepmother had in her in regards to Evie. It was nice.

"It feels weird being here, I don't know what it is exactly as I can't exactly put my finger on it. But I keep getting this weird feeling of familiarity whenever I'm walking around town. I'm worried that after all this time I may finally be losing my sanity." Prue revealed as the last few of days ever since she had arrived in Mystic Falls, she had this weird feeling constantly. Much to Prue's surprise she had found herself answering a question in her history class about Mystic Falls during the civil war despite the fact she knew nothing about the topic in the slightest. She had only been in Mystic Falls for four days and barely knew anything about the town, even before she had come here she only knew this town as the place her father and sister lived.

"It's probably because you've been so used to being away at boarding school that you're not used to being around your family. But don't worry we'll fix that shortly…" Lydia stated in a rather warm manner.

"I guess." Prue replied but she wasn't as convinced as her stepmother was, she had this feeling rooted deep into the pit of her stomach but the thing was, Prue didn't know whether this feeling was good or bad. All Prue knew was that none of this had happened before she came to Mystic Falls…


	4. Chapter 4

_Prue was standing in what seemed to be an empty wasteland, there was nothing around except misty fog and she couldn't help but look around. She had no idea where she was or even why she was even here but Prue was certain that this was another one of the dreams she had been having as already it seemed different. Aimlessly walking around not sure of what she was doing or where she was, Prue saw a figure in the distance. At first she couldn't see because of the distance and the fog but eventually Prue saw a figure emerge from the fog. It was a girl, by the looks of it only older than herself with copper red hair and big brown eyes with a friendly smile dressed in very old clothes from a least a hundred years ago. There was something so familiar about this girl, Prue felt like she knew this girl but she couldn't recall from where. Prue waited until the girl was finally standing in front of her before she decided to speak up._

_"Who are you?" Prue questioned and the girl just laughed. "Who are you?"_

_"You haven't changed at all Prudence, still asking a million questions and as straightforward as ever. But I'm not surprised that you don't remember me as that was the way things had to be. I'm Helena, I was your best friend, a very long time ago…"_

_"My best friend? Good one! I have never met you in my life and let me tell you something I only have one best friend–" Prue began with a shake of her head, whoever this woman was she was damn crazy. And most definitely not a friend of hers. _

_"–Your sister Evelyn, right?" Helena interrupted and Prue jaw hardened at the mere mention of Evie in this conversation. Prue desperately wanted to wake up and no longer be in this actual nightmare_

_"How do you know that? How do you know about her?"_

_"I know a lot about you Prudence Cavendish, l told you we were friends but it was a long time ago." Helena stated and Prue just rolled her eyes as first this girl Helena was claiming that they had been friends and now she was calling Prue by another name. Prue may not be the biggest fan of her name but she was Prudence Winters whether or not she liked it and not this Prudence Cavendish like this Helena girl was claiming._

_"My name isn't Prudence Cavendish, it's Prudence Winters." Prue corrected, her jaw hardening at the name Cavendish. It was a name that Prue never wanted to hear, that she chose not to associate herself with. The surname of her biological mother. The name that Prudence bore for only a few hours of her life before she became Prudence Winters. She discovered this information whilst rooting through her mother's attic and coming across her adoption papers years ago._

_"In this life you were born Prudence Winters but you were born Prudence Cavendish a long time ago..."_

_"What the hell are you talking about?" Prue demanded and she couldn't help but notice the look of fear and worry in Helena's eyes. The concern that Helena seemed to have over her a girl despite the fact that Prue had never met her. And yet she felt like she knew Helena and could trust her rather bizarrely._

_"You know what I'm talking about Prudence, your know that your parents did not give you the name Prudence. It was a request of your biological mother's that you be named Prudence." Helena revealed and Prue had to swallow a rather large lump in her throat. She knew that was true as Prue had asked her parents why they had named her Prudence not long after they had finally told her she was adopted. They told Prue that her biological mother asked for her to be named that_

_"How do you know that? How do you know about me?" Prue demanded._

_"Because I am always with you Prue, always watching over you, I have always been with you but you have never needed me until now." Helena wearily explained._

_"What does that mean?"_

_"I can't tell you Prue, you have to find out for yourself. There's a reason your back in Mystic Falls Prudence, the place where it all began, there is a reason for everything and you must find out the truth. You must find the truth in order to save Evelyn and the ones you will come to love. Go to the cemetery and find the gravestone marked with your name. You must remember Prudence." Helena urged._

_"Remember what?"_

_"Momento Mori."_

* * *

_Momento Mori._ Prue had been hearing that phrase constantly god knows how many times in her imagination and writing it everywhere to the point it was driving her crazy all day. Ever since she woke up from the dream with that Helena girl. Momento Mori, that was the last thing that Helena said to Prue before she had woke up, she had no idea what it meant so Prue googled this phrase. It was latin and it meant remember you will die. Prue had no idea why she kept thinking of something so morbid, she had no idea why she had to remember that she would die. It was kind of freaky along with the fact that Prue was still having weird dreams of her dying, she had drowned, decapitated among many other ways and each dream just seemed as vivid as the last one. Prue was trying to convince herself that all of this was just like Lydia said, she was having these weird dreams all because her birthday and Halloween was soon approaching. But the more this odd stuff went on the less that Prue was convinced. All this stuff started when Prue moved to Mystic Falls, a town she had never been to before. It was weird and Prue still couldn't shake off this weird sense of familiarity she had about Mystic Falls. It was frustrating Prue to no ends as it was like she was missing something that was right in front of her nose but she just couldn't see it.

"Hey stranger…"

Turning her head to the left Prue saw Matt Donovan, a tall blonde fellow junior like her and a new friend of Prue's. The two of them were in several classes together including chemistry and they had become friends through being partners. Matt was the quiet and generally nice football player and he was a far cry from her the crowd she used to hang out with. Such as Prue's ex boyfriend Freddie, he was kind of like another new friend of Prue's, Tyler Lockwood who was the typical triple varsity jock and a bit of a neanderthal jerk at time. So Prue was going to keep Tyler at arms length as the last thing she needed was to get in trouble because of another jock. But for now Prue was going to have a nice normal conversation with Matt instead of worrying that she was losing her mind because of some weird dreams and odd feelings she was getting. "Hey Donovan, missed you today…"

"Yeah I know, just been a bit busy with school and football then trying to keep my mind off Vick." Matt replied with a small shrug of his shoulders and Prue couldn't help but notice the weary look in his eyes. Matt's older sister had gone missing about three weeks before Prue had arrived in Mystic Falls, from what she knew about the whole situation was that the police had searched for her but they seemed to think that Vicki had just taken off. Apparently she was a bit of a drug addict and quite prone to reckless behaviour, Prue had gotten the Donovan's family history from Caroline who was quite the gossip, not that Prue minded.

"About that, how are you doing?" Prue couldn't help but ask as she had no idea how Matt was holding up, if Evie had disappeared she would be losing her damn mind no matter if Evie was eighteen and a legal adult at the time.

"I'm used to it I guess, Vick's always been a bit flaky and she takes off all the time to get high. Kind of takes after our mom when it comes to taking off but they both always come back. Probably when she's in trouble or run out of money and she needs me to bail her out. I love my sister but I am just so tired of it all." Matt said with a small sigh.

"Sometimes people don't really realize how much their actions are affecting the people closest to them. They just lash out and do stuff to get attention because they feel like they don't matter. They want someone to see them and want them. A person can get these feelings of low self worth and they do anything to try and make themselves feel better. No matter what the consequences were…" Prue explained as she thought about how similar her and Vicki were, both the eldest of two siblings prone to reckless behaviour and seemed to act rather aloof. They were burdens on their families although Prue was trying to rectify that.

"Speaking from experience?" Matt said, seemingly picking up on what Prue was saying.

"Haven't you heard that I got kicked out of school? How do you think I ended up here in Mystic Falls?" Prue quipped in amusement for a moment before deciding to stop with the joke. "Don't worry Matt, she'll come back… I used to sneak out of my mom's house all the time and boarding school all the time. I tell my parents I was staying over a friend's but I'd be in New York City for the weekend, running around times square at 4am. I did so many stupid things back then but no matter what I always came back."

"Why?"

"My little sister Evie, she means everything to me and the person I love most in the world. I could never leave her alone, not for too long anyway… When I was away at school my dad would bring her down to see me once a month, I wrote to her three times a week. Evie is the best part of me, she is home to me." Prue revealed with a small smile. "Don't worry Matt, Vicki will find her way back home. It may take some time but she'll find her way back…"

"Didn't take you for an optimist." Matt noted and Prue couldn't help but smile.

"That's because I'm not but I am a big sister." Prue replied and as she did, Prue couldn't help think of her dream, about what Helena had said to her. _You must find the truth in order to save Evelyn and the ones you will come to love. _All of this was crazy, all the dreams that Prue was having, she felt like she was losing her mind being here with the dreams and this weird sense of déjà vu she kept having in regards to this town. This girl Helena knew that she had been born Prudence Cavendish and she had something about Prue being back in Mystic Falls where it all began which kept bugging her as Prue had never been to Mystic Falls until now.

This entire thing was bugging Prue to no end and despite the fact that she knew that this whole thing was crazy and insane, she found herself heading to the Mystic Falls cemetery. Prue was convinced that if she couldn't find this grave with the name Prudence Cavendish then she'd finally be able to put this whole thing to rest. There would be no more spooky dreams about her dying or having conversations with people who claimed to know her. Prue would be able to go back to being regular old Prue Winters and she could forget about Prudence Cavendish. Although she did find it weird that in this dream that the Cavendish thing came up but Prue put it down to her subconscious as her birthday was fast approaching and that was the day she was given up for adoption.

When Prue arrived at the cemetery she didn't know where she was going and she just wondered around aimlessly, going further and further into the cemetery and she watched as the dates on the gravestones got further and further back until she saw something that caught her attention. It was a gravestone that was mostly covered in ivy but sitting at the grave was a small bouquet of white tulips, which just so happened to be Prue's favourite flowers. Prue slowly walked over to the gravestone and she bent down at the foot of it and taking a deep breath she pushed some of the ivy away so she could read the markings on the grave. And she got the shock of her life when she saw what was written on the gravestone.

_In loving memory of Prudence Cavendish, _

_beloved daughter and friend._

_Born - October 31__st__ 1776_

_Died – October 31__st__ 1794_

_Aged 18 years of age._


	5. Chapter 5

To say Prue had been a bit freaked out after finding the grave marked Prudence Cavendish who was born on Halloween just like her was a bit of an understatement given that she had been born Prudence Cavendish. But what Prue had to remind herself was that she had been born in 1992 whilst Prudence had been born in 1776. There was a two hundred and sixteen year gap from when the two of them had been born. Despite telling herself that there was nothing connecting her and Prudence Cavendish except for having the same name Prue couldn't help but be interested in the girl who had shared the same name as her for a brief time. So on Friday once school had finished she had gone to the local library to try and find out any information on Prudence Cavendish. Prue thought it was a long shot but apparently not, Mystic Falls kept quite detailed of records of the town from even before the town was officially founded by the founding families. There wasn't too much on Prudence's life but there was on her death. Apparently Prudence had been hopelessly in love with a man whom she called Nik, neither of their families approved of them and one day Prudence had been told by her mother that he had been killed. Prudence hadn't believed it but when Nik didn't show up for her birthday like promised it had all become too much for her. Blinded by her grief and sorrow, the young Prudence Cavendish took her life by stabbing a dagger directly into her heart.

"Prue?"

"Yes Glinda." Prue replied glancing down at her little sister who was dressed as Glinda the Good Witch from the wizard of Oz for Halloween and in Prue's opinion, her sister was the cutest Glinda that she had ever seen. The wizard of oz was Evie's favourite film and as such the little girl wanted to go as Glinda and Prue had asked if she could take Evie trick or treating this year. What Prue wasn't expecting was to be roped into wearing a costume; the wicked witch of the west. Well all Prue was wearing was a black pointed hat which went perfectly with the black jeans and grey plaid shirt she was wearing. Prue loved her sister but not enough to cover her face with green face paint but that didn't matter to Evie all that seemed to matter to her was that Prue was here with her. It melted Prue's heart to know that someone wanted her what much, that she mattered to someone even if it was a seven year old.

"Can we go home now?" Evie asked much to Prue's surprise as it was barely even seven and yet Evie wanted to go home already, despite the fact her pumpkin was just barely over half full.

"You sure Chickeve? We have all the time in the world, we don't have to go home now." Prue asked as she bent down onto one knew in order to look her baby sister in the eyes.

"I'm sure Prudy, I want to go home and watch a film with you, mommy and daddy." Evie replied showing off her toothy grin and Prue couldn't help but smile in return as Evie was the kindest, most caring and gentle that she had ever come across. Prue hoped that her little sister would never change, well not too much anyway because her sweet persona was one of the things Prue loved the most about her. Having Evie in her life and being around her more often made Prue want to be a better person and no longer be the rebellious teenager she had been. Prue wanted to be around to watch her sister grow up through her own eyes, to give Evie advice as she got older and make sure she didn't make the same mistakes that Prue had made.

"You know there is no one I'd rather spend my day with me, you know that I love you the most right? Prudy loves Chickeve…" Prue said with a warm smile as she gently squeezed her little sisters hand, sure trick or treating wasn't exactly how she wanted to spend her birthday but the only person Prue wanted to spend her birthday with was Evie. If Evie wanted to trick or treat until 8 then Prue would do it to make the little girl happy as she wanted to be a better person and to do that she had to put other people first and Evie always came first to Prue.

"Chickeve loves Prudy." Evie replied as she flung her arms around Prue's neck and hugged her big sister up and Prue laughed as she scooped Evie up and began to carry her sister home.

"Wow Evie! Your getting real big, I don't think I'll be able to carry you for much longer now!" Prue joked as she carried her sister the short ten minute walk back to their house. Prue couldn't really remember what the two of them talked about, as she had this heavy feeling in her heart and the inkling that she was forgetting something very important. She hadn't had this feeling until today, her seventeenth birthday which just so happened to be on Halloween. No matter how hard she tried to brush it off Prue couldn't shake off this weird feeling she had been having since she had woken up this morning but she wasn't going to let whatever was going on with her affect the first birthday she had with Evie for the first time in years.

"Hey, your back early!" Damien stated in clear surprise from where he sat in the living room as Prue walked through the front door and gently easing Evie back on to the ground.

"Yeah well, who am I to take on the great Glinda the Good Witch? Chickeve wanted to come home and watch films with her family and I couldn't say no to that." Prue quipped as she watched Evie run off into the direction of the kitchen leaving Prue up to her own devices. Glancing over to where her dad was sitting in the living room intently watching the sport channel Prue decided to join him and as soon as she did her dad muted the tv.

"Hey sweetie, having a good day so far?"

"Yeah." Prue said, somewhat lying as her day had been pretty mediocre as no one except her family knew about her birthday being today which is the way she wanted it. Prue had never been the biggest fan of birthdays, well she liked birthdays but never really hers and it wasn't because it was on Halloween All three of her parents had got her a car for her birthday as Prue never had need for one as she was at boarding school previous, receiving the car meant that Prue had to call her mother which was not the most easiest conversation as Prue was still pretty annoyed with her mother about the whole boarding school thing. But she didn't want to get into another argument with her mother given what today was. "If I hadn't said it enough, thanks for the car dad…"

"You've thanked me enough Prudence, I still can't believe that your seventeen now. I remember the first time I saw you in the hospital, you were in the nursery with all the other newborns and I spotted you right away. You were in the far right corner at the back, I don't know how I knew but I saw you and I knew that you were our baby and then one of the nurses came out and said to your mother and I, would we like to meet our daughter?" Damien said and Prue could hear her father's voice shake ever so slightly which was a new one as her dad wasn't the emotional one like Prue's mother. Damien Winters was the calm, level headed one who you could always go to in a situation. But Prue knew that how she had become her parents daughter was a very hard and difficult road and there had been doubts at time about whether she had would actually become theirs. Prue knew that there had been a previous attempt at an adoption and everything seemed fine until the adoptive mother back out two days after the baby had been born. It broke Prue's parents hearts as they had been waiting to have a baby for so long. Six months later they had Prue.

"Dad…"

"I admit that at times it hasn't been easy but I wouldn't change any of it because you changed my entire life Prudence. From the moment I looked into your eyes that day in the hospital I knew that I would never do anything in my life that was better than becoming a father. I know your mother and I's divorce was hard on you, more than you like either of us to know but you dealt with it in the best way you could. I just want you to know that I'm so proud of you Prudence and I'm really happy that you're here…" Damien said and Prue was certain that she could hear her father's voice crackling every so often. Sure her father had his fault but Prue had her own and she loved her father, well her entire family no matter how weird they were.

"Such a sentimental old fool dad!" Prue lightly quipped as she leant her head against her dad's shoulder and after a moment Damien began to lightly stroke the top of her head like he used to when Prue was a child. The two of them sat there in silence for a view minutes, silently watching the sports channel until they were disturbed by the sound of Lydia and Evie, who had changed out of her costume into her pajamas. Both of them were wearing identical grins on their faces.

"Sorry to interrupt but we have one more little surprise for Prue." Lydia said and Prue sat up and glanced up her family members, she wasn't sure what they were up to.

"We got a kitty!" Evie announced unable to contain herself and moments later Prue's stepmother pulled out a small black cat from behind her back and gently handed it over to Evie. The seven year old girl stroked the kitten's head before slowly walking over to Prue and their dad to join them on the couch. "Prudy meet Helena."

"Helena?" Prue asked, unable to help the frown that appeared on her face, the cat was called Helena like the _Helena_ from Prue's dream? Who claimed to be her former best friend and had basically sent her to the grave of Prudence Cavendish. Prue didn't believe in coincidences but she was starting to believe as things were starting to get a bit too strange here for her liking. That or she was losing her damn mind.

"Yes we know, it's a bit weird but Evie chose it and there was nothing we could do." Lydia explained and Prue was still pretty freaked out as Helena, the potentially real or made up person had mentioned Evie in Prue's dream and now Evie was calling their new pet Helena. It was bloody bizarre. However Prue was spared from saying that out loud and hurting her sister's feelings when the doorbell went off. Prue assumed it was trick or treaters and barely blinked when Evie jumped up to join her mother in opening the door and handing out candy. However it was not trick or treaters at the door and Prue got the surprise of her life when Caroline walked into her front room with a rather determined look on her face with a costume bag in one hand.

"If you thought you could get away without me finding out that your birthday is today of all days then you were sorely mistaken Prudence Winters…"


	6. Chapter 6

God knows how but Caroline Forbes had somehow found out in this evening that it was Prue's birthday and she refused to let Prue just get through the day without celebrating it. Hence how Prue wound up being dragged to the local party at the high school much to dismay. She didn't want to go but Caroline was relentless and Prue's dad certainly didn't help in the matter, all he said was have fun and don't come home too late. Prue had been hoping that her had would have said no and made Prue stay home and watch movies with her family like had wanted to but no, her dad was all about Prue being normal and trying to have a new start here in Mystic Falls. Seemingly forgetting that Prue got into a lot of trouble at school for being too social and sneaking out, and then there was some underage drinking. But Prue told herself that just because she was going in those situations, it didn't mean she had to return to her old self. Prue reminded herself of that as she dressed in yet another witches costume with Caroline and Bonnie her fellow witches and Tyler who was trying to convince Prue to have some of his family's famous cider.

"Come on Prue, you'll like it trust me." Tyler said waving a cup in front of Prue.

"Tyler you know I don't drink anymore, I'm on my best behaviour now because if I get into anymore trouble I'm being shipped off to St. Agatha's and singing hymns and carrying rosary beads before you know it." Prue replied once again declining the infamous family cider as the last thing she wanted was to be shipped off to yet another school, this time one for troubled girls and strict nuns. Mystic Falls was quickly becoming home to her and Prue liked being able to spend time with her and dad along with Evie, Prue was catching up with school and she had also made some good friends. A far cry from the apparent friends that Prue had in boarding school.

"Well if your not going to drink then I sure as hell will." Caroline interrupted as she took Prue's discarded drink from Tyler and Prue couldn't help but laugh. Just because she didn't drink anymore, it didn't mean that Prue couldn't let her friends to do it and have fun with each other. All it meant was that Prue had to have fun without any alcohol, which was easy for her as it was something that Prue had become accustomed to that during her in boarding school.

"Have fun then, I'm going to run to the bathroom but I'll be back soon." Prue stated as she walked off and left her friends to it, heading inside the school building Prue found that it was packed because of the Halloween party. There were people everyone to go along with the loud music, decorations and ultraviolet paint. It reminded Prue of all the parties she used to sneak out to on a weekend. Squeezing past several people dressed in costumes Prue had almost reached the bathroom when she spotted something in the corner of her eye or rather someone. Helena, not her new kitten but the Helena from her dreams which had led her to the grave that bore Prue's birth name. Prue should have gone straight into the bathroom, that would have been the sane thing do but instead she found herself walking to Helena. But just as Prue had almost reached her, Helena turned and began to run into the crowds and reluctantly Prue followed her. There were so many people that Prue was finding it hard to keep up with Helena, she was having to push past so many people just to be able to see the back of Helena's head. The loud music and the darkness of the school corridors certainly didn't help and for Prue it felt like she had been running for ages until she found herself alone in an empty corridor and Helena was nowhere in sight. Prue was certain that she was losing her mind.

"Happy birthday Prue."

Turning around Prue saw Helena standing there, exactly the same from when Prue saw her in her dreams. But Prue wasn't dreaming, she was wide awake and at a Halloween party.

"How do you know it's my birthday?" Prue demanded and Helena just chuckled and now Prue was certain that she was losing her mind as she was having a conversation with someone who wasn't even here. This wasn't caused by alcohol or drugs but most likely Prue's overactive imagination but never in a million years did Prue ever think she'd start hallucinating such madness. Lydia thought that this had been just because Prue was stressed and it was all related to her birthday but Prue wasn't too sure. Well she wasn't too sure about anything, other than the fact that she was having some kind of mental health issue at the moment.

"I told you before Prue, we were once best friends a long time ago."

"How the hell are you even here?" Prue demanded.

"Ghost, with a hell of a lot unfinished business." Helena replied with a slight shrug of her shoulders and Prue was pretty sure that her jaw was currently sitting on the floor not to mention wide open and letting a whole lotta flies in as she couldn't believe what she was hearing. This Helena was apparently a ghost. That was a new one.

"You're a ghost?"

"Correct." Helena easily replied.

"With unfinished business?"

"Yes."

"And yet your choosing to haunt me? What the hell?" Prue demanded as even if she did believe this for a second, which Prue didn't. It just made no sense, she had seen Casper and Prue knew people only became ghosts because they had unfinished business that they needed to complete before they could finally move on to the other side, or wherever it was people went where they died.

"YOU are my unfinished business Prue! Geez, you used to be so much smarter that this I guess the 21st century has had an effect on you along with everyone else…" Helena quipped and Prue couldn't believe that this apparent ghost had the nerve to insult her.

"You are not real! Ghosts do not exist, this is just my imagination being way over active…" Prue firmly stated before turning around and beginning to walk away as she wanted to go back and find her friends and perhaps have some of Tyler's family cider so she could forget about all of this. Prue was normal, well as normal as a girl who had abandonment issues and just been kicked out of boarding school could be. Ghosts did not exist and Prue did not believe in them, Prue barely believed in anything.

"An overactive imagination is something that you've always had but even you wouldn't imagine yourself dying twelve different times in your sleep." Helena called out and Prue froze in her step before slowly turning around, back to face Helena.

"How do you know about that?" Pure hoarsely asked.

"Momento Mori."

"How the hell does some latin phrase about remembering to die have anything to do with any of this? I want some answers from you right now Helena!" Prue demanded, very quickly losing her temper because she was having enough of all of this.

"Those dreams you've been having Prue, they've all been so violent and vivid, too real to be a dream and that's because none of them were a dream. You've started to suspect that they were a memory of a previous life and that's' what they are Prudence. I told you Momento Mori because you need to remember to die and that's what your doing Prue. Each one of those dreams is a memory of you dying in one of your past lives and they started not long after you returned to Mystic Falls. That gravestone marked with your name belongs to you Prudence, it is your grave. You were born for the first time here and you died for the first time here back in 1776." Helena stated and Prue just shook her head, this was all nonsense.

"This isn't true…"

"Yes it is Prue, it's why you've had this constant sense of familiarity since you moved to Mystic Falls. It's déjà vu because you've lived here before, you've lived a life here before as Prudence Cavendish but you just don't remember it. But your starting to remember Prue, your memories are coming back to you." Helena softly explained and a tiny bit of Prue was starting to believe all of this, no matter how insane it sounded it was the only explanation to why Prue was having all this déjà vu and why there was a grave in town with her name on it.

"Why are you doing this to me?"

"Because I'm trying to save to save your life Prudence!" Helena retorted and that was honestly the last thing that Prue was expecting to hear, Prue wasn't really sure what she had been expecting Helena to say but it definitely wasn't that."

"What are you talking about?" Pure asked but Helena didn't say anything, instead she just looked away. "Hey! You can't just drop something like that and not explain any further."

"Are you saying you believe me?" Helena asked after a moment.

"I don't seem to know what to believe anymore." Prue honestly admitted.

"You were born two hundred and thirty three years ago to this night under a full moon to Tristan and Constance Cavendish here in Mystic Falls before it actually became Mystic Falls. But you were marked from birth with a curse by a fellow witch because your parents, both of them witches attempted to lift a curse off one of the most volatile and oldest vampires in existence–" Helena began.

"–Witches and vampires? You have got to be kidding me…"

"I'm a ghost, don't find it hard to believe that other supernatural creatures exist as well Prudence." Helena gently scolded and Prue frowned. "Back to the story, witches are the servants of nature and given that your parents were disobeying nature by trying to break a curse nature placed on this vampire, they had to be punished. But this witch punished all of you on what was supposed to be the greatest day of your parents lives. The witch Mathilde cursed you to die Prudence, you would be born and live until your eighteen birthday and then you would die, only to be reborn again soon after and repeat the progress. That's why you have so many dreams about dying so many different ways because you have lived and died twelve times already Prue."

"W-What about them? My biological parents?" Prue found herself asking, despite the fact that she didn't consider them to actually be her parents. Damien and Clarissa were her parents, she was their child and not the child of Tristan and Constance Cavendish.

"Your parents were stripped of their powers and given the horrendous task of being forced to live forever and watch you die over and over again only for you to return to die again." Helena revealed and Prue didn't say anything at first because it was a lot of information to take in, as apparently not only was she some kind of witch but she was also cursed as well. The whole thing sounded insane but Prue found herself inclined to believe Helena.

"I'm seventeen now, if this is all true then I'm going to die next year…" Prue grimly said and Helena slowly nodded her head.

"That's why I'm here Prue; to try and help you save your own life so you can save everyone else before the dark returns, find the old witches house tomorrow and come alone…" Helena said and before Prue's eyes she disappeared and Prue sighed. She definitely needed to get a drink off Tyler now.


End file.
